In my ongoing quest to avoid buying and carrying the snub-nosed, hammerless revolver that is likely my destiny, I took my Rohrbaugh R9 to the range for a little quality time. I purchased this R9 used with about 150 rounds on the clock. Prior to this, I’d run about 100 rounds through it with no failures at all except when shooting Aguila ammo. The R9 simply could not light off the primers of the Mexican ammo. Yesterday, I just wanted to get a feel for the gun again, so I purchased a box of each of Wally World’s finest: Federal, Winchester White Box, and Tula ammo and headed to the range. I set the target at five yards and let fly with slow, two handed fire . . .

With the WWB ammo, my first group was tight: about six inches across. I followed this with a six-shot group through one ragged hole with one flyer. For the second mag, I loaded the Rohrbaugh with the Federal ammo. I experienced one failure to extract on the second mag. I tried the Tulammo and found that, again, the R9 could not light off the primers. So no testing with that ammo then; I’ll feed the leftovers to the extremely un-picky Glock.

I ran through 60 rounds, alternating ammo, and did a couple fast strings, emptying the mag quickly. The pistol ran well, but I did have a failure to extract in one of the later mags, again with the federal ammo. The recoil is stout, but not unmanageable, I don’t think I would want to put 200 rounds through the gun in a range session.

Our esteemed senior editor likes to call the R9, the gun you aren’t supposed to shoot. Actually he is correct. The Rohrbaugh HQ recommends you shoot it enough to get familiar with it, and be sure your carry ammo works in it, then stop firing and carry it. Run a couple mags through it when you are at the range shooting the other guns, to refresh the ammo, but otherwise: shoot little, carry much. The factory recommends recoil spring change ($5) every 200 rounds.

On the carry issue: The Rohrbaugh R9 is the smallest, lightest pistol chambered for the 9mm Parabellum round that I know. As such, it carries like a dream. The R9 is as smooth as a used bar of soap, and would be about as slippery if wet I imagine. It is very comfortable for carry, and easy peasy to conceal in pocket or in waistband. It is designed purposely without a slide lock, safety, or mag release on the side so nothing would catch from pocket deployment. In fact, the pistol originally had no sights, but they were added by customer request, and it is available either sighted or sight free (R9S or R9 respectively).

Handling the pistol is natural for me. Doing dry fire exercises from a draw found the pistol pointed naturally and finding the front sight was a breeze. The grip is a bit short and very smooth, making it a bit hard to hold on to. I have seen many videos of shooters of this gun adjusting their grip after each shot. I was able to make things a bit better with a ghetto mag extension solution. The mag extension is from Pearce and made for single stack 9mm Kahrs. It just needs a little modification in the form of a notch cut in the back of it to allow use on the R9. I also went at it with a Dremel until I liked the fit. Beautiful custom Al mag extensions are sometimes available on the Rohrbaugh forums for approximately six times the price of the Pearce extensions.

R9 is not as light as the plastic Pocket .380s from Kel Tec and Ruger, but is about the same weight and size as the Sig P238 and the newly re-introduced Colt Mustang Pocket Lite. I expect the Bersa Thunder .380 is about the same. By most accounts, the former pistols are not a reliable as the Rohrbaugh, and the latter heavier pistols are more shooter friendly than the R9.

I typically carry the pistol in my pocket in either a Desantis Nemesis Holster, or a Recluse pocket holster. My default is the Nemesis, but the Recluse is nice when I am worried about printing (it prints as well, but prints “wallet” not “gun”). I like both designs, but the Nemesis is just a touch lighter and feels more balanced. The Recluse draws faster. I have a custom kydex IWB holster that allows for occasional belt carry.

The R9 is built with a steel slide on an aluminum frame and carbon fiber grip panels. It comes in two finishes, stainless or “Stealth” which is a darker tint. Technically, my model is an R9S Stealth.

The R9 barrel is short, as expected, but the 9mm cartridge still probably produces 50% more energy than an equivalent .380 ACP load, along with a heavier bullet. This should lead to better penetration and bullet performance. In the real world, does it make any difference? I think .380 +P loads would narrow that difference even more.

About that +P thing: the R9 should not be run with +P loads. Not designed for it, not recommended.

The trigger is double action perfection. Ultra smooth, with a very sharp, crisp break and zero stacking. I can not tell at all when this trigger will break. Reset is long, and you shoot it like a revolver with quick, smooth, full strokes of the trigger. The magazines are held with a Euro type heel magazine release. Don’t expect to swap mags quickly.

The R9 has good support both from the factory and at the independent Rohrbaugh Forums. The forums are filled with friendly, enthusiastic, helpful and knowledgeable folks. They recommend Speer Gold Dots as carry ammo, and I had zero failures of any kind when running through 50 rounds of this ammo.

Summary: It is a nice pistol clearly built well to tight tolerances. It is as accurate as its pilot. It is easy to carry. It does suffer some of the same flaws as other small, light, powerful weapons: Ammo preferences, difficult and or painful to shoot, reliability issues, and general lack of robustness.

77 Responses to Gun Review: Rohrbaugh R9S Stealth

While beautiful, this pistol is awfully expensive for what you get. It is extremely small and beautifully constructed, but I would never drop that kind of coin for something so delicate. There are simply too many slightly larger but much cheaper options.

One slide test with the R9 compact at the dealer proved that this is a great choice for my cc. It worked, no questions asked! I have smaller female hands, so in testing other carry options like the Smith & Wesson, Diamondback, etc…the slide release, long triggers, break-in and the slow magazine release on other smaller guns were frustrating. I like the stealth carry. I gladly paid the price tag at a new smaller dealer who recently opened, not going to a big box dealer. I want to note this is a also going to pass down to my daughter(s). I was not interested in a firearm with sights, laser, etc…besides, I know plenty of people who bedazzle their Sigs and other choice machines to at least the cost of this little R9 compact, so cost is subjective. This is a great bug for a shotgun, lol.

The over $1000 price tag is rather steep. Though the pistol is unique in offering no sights and typically a pocket gun is bad breath time point and click so I understand. For the purpose of pocket defense at that price it shouldn’t have a “please don’t shoot this if you can help it” tag though. The more I pay for something, the more I tend to want usability and reliability and neither of those seems to shine over the SIG 290 that Ralph reviewed in the least.

However, when price is no object, the weapon will perform and it does boast the best pocket profile of the micro 9mm genre and that alone will justify the purchase for some buyers. That and the exclusive nature of it that some purchase weaponry for.

I think he did mean the P290 from Sig. Sig recommends changing recoil springs every 5000 rounds. I can’t imagine paying that much for a gun, only to worry about shooting it too much. Pocket pistols require practice. I’ll stick with my p290. No reliability issues.

Honestly, I fail to see the point of this gun — there are SO many compromises that it just seems to be some kind of elitist more-money-than-sense toy.

I mean, I get that it’s tiny — it’s a 9mm that’s just barely larger than the LCP/TCP/P3AT/DB380, but it has crappy sights, no slide lock, an idiotic turn of the century European magazine catch, and to top it off, the thing costs north of 1,000 USD.

As it stands, I’m seriously considering a BUG for EDC, and at the moment the DB9 is at the top of my shortlist (at least as soon as I’ve actually put a few hundred rounds through it)….

So far I’ve got 200 Federal (150 Champion, 50 American Eagle), and 10 Hornady Critical Defense through mine. A handful of misfeeds, and a stovepipe were the only issues I experienced.

Nothing has broken yet (that I know of), no pinwalking that I could discern. On the whole, I must say that I’m rather impressed. Sure it isn’t as smooth to fire as my P238, but it certainly seems to be a trustworthy BUG.

The famous Smith & Wesson “hammerless” snubbies like the M642/M442 have a hammer — albeit an internal hammer. Nevertheless, why fight fate? For the price of the delicate R9S, you can buy not one, not two, but three Airweights and enough ammo to keep them all well fed with +P hollowpoints. And — hold on to your hat — you’re actually allowed to shoot them all you want. Imagine that. A gun you can actually shoot. Holy moly!

And will never break or malfunction,is safe as houses, has second strike capability, has a jillion accessories and great resale. It’s just such a no brainer… I just don’t get why folks just have to have a semi. Makes no sense to me.

I’ve had a model 442 S&W (bought new, but without that damned internal lock) for almost two years now, and it’s been great. After a little instruction, I can now put a cylinder of +P .38 into a pie plate at 20 feet very quickly. It’s in my pocket holster most of the time, and I never, never, never have to worry about whether it will go bang. Whenever any S hits the F, it’s going into my pocket.

I can see the benefit of a larger pistol (as soon as my significant other finishes a long-delayed undergraduate degree there WILL be a 1911 under my personal Christmas tree), but I cannot understand the benefit of a pocket auto. The damned things do not reliably work. As such, they are essentially useless.

It is SO easy to buy a pocket handgun that works, and if I were to strap my 442 into a Ransom Rest, I think we’d all be astonished by the results…

I just broke down and got my first Smith (new 27 classic) with the internal lock. I’ve been avoiding it, but since so few makers still offer blue/wood DA revolvers I felt I should support ‘em. Looks great, trigger is nice and smooth and 500 rounds of full house 158’s later I haven’t had a problem. Easy enough to remove if need be. I think I’ll even pick up a 57 to go with it.

I think they just call them “hammerless” even though it’s not really accurate (no pun intended). Bobbed means bobbed, the hammer spur is rounded like a 1911. Shrouded is almost as snag-free as hammerless but there is an exposed section of the hammer so you can go SA.

Isnt a PF9 technically lighter? Per their websites, 12.7oz unloaded vs 13.5oz unloaded. And more importantly, not $1000, nor is it a gun that self destructs after 200 rounds. Also I thought Rohrbaughs had a problem stove pipeing on the last round?

I don’t pretend to defend the price, nor the pistol itself, but the spring is a wear part, and it is CERTAINLY not fair to compare the R9 to the PF9, the latter of which is almost a full inch longer and taller. The R9 is minutely larger than an LCP, but in 9x19mm and not 9x17mm. Given this, and the design of the guiderod/spring, the spring has an AWFUL lot of work to do, and not a lot of space to do it in. Also, the 200 round number is a *recommendation* by the manufacturer — it’s PREVENTATIVE maintenance; it could almost certainly work beyond that number, but with less certainly.

As for issues with stovepiping on the last round, this is almost certainly due to the magazine, more specifically the follower. One of the magazines that came with my P238 occasionally does weird things on the last round (first version mag, more or less a direct copy of the Colt Mustang magazine), while the other (third version mag) has never failed to function properly.

This review is like others I’ve read for this gun: not reliable and basically unremakable, except for its ridiculous price, yet the reviewer ends up giving it 4 stars anyway. Maybe it’s the slippery carbon fiber grips that make R9 owners love it so much, but I don’t get it.

Really? I have 6000+ rounds through an XDm-40 and haven’t have to change anything get. It is as reliable today as it was 3 years ago when I bought her. Best part, not $1000+, nor do I need to keep parts “stocked” in my garage…

Carried mine for about 6 months.Could never get the thing to really digest ammo with TRUE reliability.Very light primer strikes could cost you your life when the gun is needed.Sold mine locally for almost what I pain ($1250).Bought the Kahr CM9 for less than half the money. Not a SINGLE failure with the Kahr; even during the break-in period.Kahr has MUCH better trigger and ergonomics.Just one owners experience.

A 1200 dollar gun that wont take +p, (in a short barrel for defensive purposes, I’ll take all the power I can get thanks), experiences multiple fte’s and light primer strikes on multiple brands of ammo, presumably occuring in less than 200 rounds fired. Cant be shot regularly, rediculous maintainance standards (regardless of cost) and features no grippable texturing whatsoever ( I’ve got sweaty hands even when I’m not about to die or defend my family)….. Where is the money going? Carbon fiber? I’m offended and at that price, you all should be too because it’s a swindle if ever I’ve seen one.

given that a $250 twisted industries .22lr unit makes the PF-9 the only DAO .22 auto out there that has an extractor, it has to be the practice gun for rimfire shooters. I am as of yet undecided as to whether or not to go with a Kahr CM as the main gun, as vs the PF9. gotta shoot both of them a lot more. Some people have had to due fairl extensive fluff and buff jobs in order to have this .22 unit be reliable, but mine is flawless. If shtf, I want both a silenced .22 pistol and a front pants pocket rig for my 9, because it stays out of the way of both the backpack and the rifle. The Rorbaugh’s price is ridiculous

Most of you are missing the point. — 1. The pistol is DESIGNED for specific ammo and has the tightest tolerances that you will find. Speer GD works 100% reliably and has documented stopping power. This is not a Glock. Reporting that it does not work with ammo it is KNOWN not to work with does it a disservice. I have had ZERO FTF/FTE with Speer and the other recommended loads. Just like in EVERY firearm, MY ammo of choice is EXACTLY what works reliably. That has been established. Reviewer: “I had zero failures of any kind when running through 50 rounds of this ammo.” — 2. The entire purpose of the design is for CARRY. No levers, hooks, buttons, sights, or ANYTHING to catch on your clothing when you actually NEED it. — 3. No +P is for a reason. It is not needed for defense, and is too much for such a small pistol. This is not a Glock – which I own several of, and love. — 4. The ergos are fine. I added some tape to the front strap and it works with my very long hands. — 5. Carry lots, shoot little. Just makes sense. DUUHHH. It is not a recreational experience to shoot such a small pistol. It is VERY high precision steel, and can handle plenty of shooting. The reason for not shooting lots is NOT because it cannot handle it. — 6. The recoil spring is simply so small/short that it simply will wear out. While it CAN last for plenty of rounds, 200 is preventive medicine. Consider how short it is and the intense load it handles. Even leaf springs on a car flatten out… — 7. The trigger is simply GREAT. Smooth like buttah. Blows away my S&W 642.8. The money goes into some REALLY FINE machining. The piece is simply beautiful, well designed and well made for carry. I have spent as much on other arms that did not have NEAR the quality. — 9. So far as the S&W M624 etc, I have them. They DO NOT CARRY like the R9. CARRY is the key word. They are larger in most every dimension and clunky in a pocket or pouch. They shoot great, yes. But they don’t compare in the carry. Until you have dropped the R9 in a pocket, you just cannot understand. Or strap one on your ankle. — 10. Comparing R9s to Glocks and XDs and 642s is apples and oranges. Next time you are in a Fun Store, just hold one. Drop it in your pocket.

Yes, I can see the point of these “boutique” pistols for carry. I had and enjoyed a .32 Seecamp a couple of years ago. It’s like owning a Rolex (had one of those too). After getting my Seecamp and enjoying all the oohs and ahhs from my gun savvy friends, it got old really quick. A very expensive, very finicky .32 can really wear on your brainpan after a while. It’s more of a miracle of modern engineering than a modern engineering miracle. I sold that finicky but beautifully made Seecamp and bought an LCP. Love my LCP. It’s lighter, more effective and less “difficult.”
And in the long run less difficult will win out pretty much every time.

I can’t reasonably plop down $1,200 for a tiny pistol that the manufacturer suggests not to shoot to much, and change the recoil spring after 200 rounds. I’ll keep my Kel-Tec PF-9 with the same recoil spring after over 1,000 rounds of flawless functioning.

As an owner of the company I just need to post some info since there is dis and misinformation out there.
First: I personally have placed 3ooo rounds with changing my recoil springs as needed. I have actually forgotten to change them at times so I have surpassed my round counts and still worked flawlessly.
Second: This firearm is made from METAL, it is not a bic pen (polymer gun if you haven’t figured that out). the machining is flawless and time consuming.
Three: the miniturization required to make this firearm is amazing. We have taken the 9mm to the smallest size that physics allow-

I think you people who are those amazing pundits who know everything about guns should get off their own lazy … and design, manufacture , distribute and sell their OWN firearm. When you do all of that, they you are free to add your own 2cents

No Mike, we firearm users are pretty much free to slam or praise a product for whatever reason we see fit; be it price, fit or finish, performance, usability, etc. It is the reader’s responsibility as to whether to assign any weight to a review or opinion – great concept, huh?

I can hardly believe that one of the inside guys at Rohrbaugh would actually insult customers on this site. A higher up in a gun company telling potential customers that they should not criticize a gun is worse than bad customer service in warranty.

The same thing happens with Patriot firearms, Sccy firearms, and the now-bankrupt KBI/Charles Daly. Unprofessional management not taking their job serious while stagnating in old technology. Put more into engineering and less into worsening your rep.

I LOL’d at these comments. It seems that this Rohrbaugh discussions get almost “religious” and “personal”. Everyone trying to rate the gun and engage in positioning to support THEIR decision and what they spent their own $$ on. I for one would be similarly “insulted” to have people chiming in, comapring my golden apple to a prune…and ultimatly insisting that my Rohrbaugh spend was a waste.

I understand the pride that Rohrbaugh must have behind their high-quality, hand made, precision pistols. I also understand others that can’t justify the high price for thier needs. Everyone must keep in mind that what Rohrbaugh set out to do – they accomplished. The SMALLEST, finest, highest-quality 9mm pocket pistol available. This doesn’t come without certain drawbacks and you simply have to keep it all in perspective.

If you want a 9mm that you can completely forget about while carrying and is reliably able to protect your life – the Rohrbaugh accomplishes this in a way no other has. You simply have to find the ammo it likes and stick with it. You have to undertstand the purpose is a super concealable, “shoot occasionally, carry always”, effective caliber application. NO other handgun except for the Rohrbaugh have I found provides me with the features/characateristics I desire for that application.

For that admittedly narrow niche, it’s a clear winner. For those that can afford the high price tag for the hand-made/fit engineering produced by Rohrbaugh, why not? My J-frame .38 just doesn’t work in some sitautions where my soon to own Rohrbaugh will. Hats off to Warg and others at Rohrbaugh for producing something the big manufacturers’ can’t or refuse to supply. I for one think we need other high-quality US made options. Rohrbaugh is a fine example.

I can understand the pride and somewhat overly defensive position from Mr Warg but don’t take it personal. Some will “get it” and some won’t. With your price tag, you just won’t appeal to a large percentage of buyers. With that said, to have people constantly comparing a Rohrbaugh to a cheap, plasticy, horribly-triggered POS would annoy me as well.

MotoJB, it looks like a lot of companies make similar guns with good quality, such and the SIG P290 and P938, the Kimber SOLO, several different 9mm model Kahrs, the Ruger LC9, and the Beretta Nano. It looks like the Rohrbaugh beats the Kahrs by .1 inches, but the Rohrbaugh is in good company for comparable pocket nines.

As it goes now though, I haven’t heard any unusual problems with any of these comparable pistols, and I definitely haven’t heard any company owners disrespecting other companies by calling their guns “bic pen[s].” I would never compare a Kahr PM9 or other reputable gun manufacturers’ polymer-framed guns to a pen, because it’s simply hating to do so. As features go, most all of the competition offers more options like large tritium sights, different grips, and +P compatibility.

Another point is Rohrbaugh’s recommendation to not fire your carry weapon very much. It is a very dangerous and lazy habit to get into. I never expect my P290 to be as accurate as my P226, but I do expect it to be as reliable out to 10,000 rounds before noticeable internal wear.

One more point: many polymer framed guns have a steel chassis which the slide rails connect to. These extend the life of the pistol to about the same as a steel framed gun. On this point, the aluminum frame of the Rohrbaugh will probably wear the same or faster than comparable guns.

The Rohrbaugh is simply a fair-to-OK pistol with a high price tag and the PR of a crap gun company (thus why I compared them to Sccy and Patriot arms). I see it as sticking to old hydra-shoks instead of upgrading to bonded gold-dots or PDX-1’s–outdated engineering with less performance and the same price tag.

I will bet real money that, if longevity and price are minor considerations, I can build an even smaller 9mm auto than Rohrbaugh. Just don’t insist that one can shoot it a lot. The people at Rohrbaugh deserve a dope slap.

Your from Rohrbaugh? You sound so unprofessional. And your logic doesnt make sense. So you’re basically saying if you dont design, manufacture, distribute the product you use, then you cant negatively review it?
Then no one should review cars, restaurants, phones, computers, laptops, unless they build it as well… that makes no sense.

I think I’d rather spend the money on an M&P Shield in 9mm, .40 S&W, and an SCCY CPX-2 CB, along with some range ammo.

I wouldn’t spend $250 on a gun I couldn’t shoot at least occasionally with +P rounds, let alone $1k. I would say “**** this gun and the company making it” but I’m pretty sure the market will be taking care of that.

I have a 32seecamp and a ruger lc9 and a 38smith body guard and about ten other hand guns. and gun of this size whould be my gun of choice of carry. being a tool maker and working with tight torlances +_ .0001 i know quality when i see it like my seecamp you have to keep it clean and use the right ammo. but i want a rohrbraugh r9s. and its not a range gun but a pocket gun that you could you can carry any where. and its a 9mm . cant wait to buy one.uncle wayne

I kinda like my Rohrbaugh. With 800 or so rounds thru it over the past couple of years I’ve never had an issue using 115gr Gold Dots. While not a pleasure to shoot, it is reliable, rather accurate at 7 yards and tiny. That tiny part allows me to stick it in my pocket at a moment’s notice with no bother…..something that doesn’t work for me with the Shield, P290 or Nano.

I own two Rohrbaugh R9’s and have found both of them to be flawless with the selected ammo. I can understand that this gun is not for everyone but as stated above it does exactly what it was designed to do. It carries in a front pocket without printing and draws easily. The lack of +p ammo doesn’t bother me as any short barreled gun will not make use of the additional pressures. The gun is beautifully engineered and all the components are of the highest quality. Detractors scoff at having to replace the recoil spring after 200 rounds but it’s a whopping 5 bucks! You can spend that on a McDonalds lunch and not think twice. I have a Kahr CM9, a Beretta Nano, a S&W Bodyguard 380, and a Ruger LCP. It front pocket carries MUCH easier than the Kahr and Beretta. It has better ballistics than the Ruger and S&W. I carry it every day with total confidence. I guess each to their own.

I love my rohrbaugh. I wanted something to carry in my fancy jeans that printed less than my cellphone and wallet. And even with the price deflating my wallet the gun STILL prints less. Metal gun….9mm…pull the trigger it goes bang…last line of defense while your screaming nooo!!…please!! no!! I think it will serve it’s purpose.
Countering a review with another gun that is NOTHING like a rohrbaugh is hilariously stupid. IE: Why use an iPad when you can use a powerful desktop computer. It’s faster and half the price. lol what? I don’t need to go on.

All mini-autos are ammo sensitive – you need the right ammo or you will get sick of the gun. I got a Seecamp 32 and all I use is Speer Gold Dots …. they ain’t 200 round a session range guns ….. too expensive, and all you get is a sore finger

I have a Rohrbaugh R9 and love it. I carry it in a Crossbreed Supertuck holster and it is not noticeable at all. It functions very well with Home Defense loads. It is not one to take to the range and shoot all day but I know it will be reliable when and if I need it for self defense.

@ Mark Warg…and you New Yorkers wonder why we don’t like your attitude when you visit Pennsylvania? My final decision comes not due to your product unreliability, rudeness or nasty attitude. But rather that I’d rather support a local company that makes a great product namely Kahr which has decided to move here to Pike County, PA. I simply will never ever buy another product from NY ever again. Sorry.

Okay, Rohrbaugh is great. Looks like a gun I can carry all day and may even forget I even have it. A thousand bucks? I guess if I want a quick draw shoot and hide or run gun, then this is the one. But I can do that with a Kahr or any of the 380 caliber pocket pistols. Oh, not enough power? I used to think that but now I wonder if I really need that much power. And high capacity is never a requirement. I want one I can defend myself with, not join the war. What I mean is, I don’t want to get in a firefight and live to tell or not. I’m not gonna go up against bank robbers like those in LA, or the OK Corral. I’ve decided Kahr PM9 when I have the money, CM9 when I come up short, or when I hit the lottery, the Rohrbaugh R9S maybe Stealth.

Meh, it may be the ultimate super-deluxe 9mm mouse gun but I like actually shooting the pieces I buy. Don’t own a handgun yet but I imagine a grand will buy 2 or 3 surplus Makorovs/P-64’s or S&W J-frames in nice shape and plenty of ammo, and those are common CCW guns for a reason.

So over 1k – the price of a Kimber, USP, or Five Seven, and you get – a mouse gun that fails to feed a few times in one range session and is almost as good as a basic snubbie except the snubbie won’t fail to feed when you need it? Why again?

With the issues… I would bail on this expensive toy and go with a Kahr PM9 Black Diamond… better ergos, more accurate and you can actually shoot it!!! Great trigger too… Lightly used should be around $500… mine didn’t require break in, some do.